Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

Amanita muscaria(Fly Agaric Mushrooms, Amanitas)

Amanita muscaria, the highly visible and strikingly beautiful mushroom, also known as the Fly Agaric, is yellow to red in color and speckeled with white. Amanita muscaria is probably humanity's oldest entheogen. Amanita muscaria's history has it associated with both Shamanic and magical practices. It was identified as the "Soma" of the ancient (4000 BC) Rig Veda by Gordon Wasson.

So, Amanita muscaria has historical use as far back as we have history, and it shouldnt be hard to suppose that prehistoric humans, in their activities as hunter/gatherer, recognized that there were mushrooms and other plants that had benefits not related to hunger. Our ancestors must surely have been intrigued by the Amanita muscaria--they appeared magically from nowhere, in strange and beautiful shapes and colors and gave magical visions of the beyond when eaten.

Today Amanita muscaria mushrooms are widely known: the Alice in Wonderland mushrooms, the fairytale mushrooms regularly seen in fairy tale books. Yet most people arent aware that they are, in fact, real. A must have addition to any ethnobotanical collection.